Mainstream Music with a Positive Attitude
Mainstream Music with a Positive Attitude Music Spotlight
Interview with Barry Russo, These Are the Days By Lisa M. Hendey
I live with a fourteen year old who loves to spend his spare
time playing his electric guitar and has begun to work on his
own original compositions. As a parent and one who spends a lot
of time in the car listening to music with my kids, I was
thrilled to discover the music of Barry Russo, and particularly
his CD These Are the Days.
Barry, along with being an accomplished musician and composer,
is a liturgical musician and music teacher. For this, his debut
CD, he's chosen a mainstream approach, recording great tunes
with broad appeal. The project is a blast, one parents and their
teens can and should enjoy together. This is the kind of musical
role model our families need - one who lets the essence of his
soul shine through with a fun and positive message.
I had a chance to catch up with Barry Russo and to chat with him
about his music, his plans, and that elusive question - how to
get your kids to sing in church! I'm pleased to share Barry's
answers, his music, and his great personality with you.
Q: Barry, please start off by telling us a bit about yourself
and your music.
A: I lived my entire life in the tiny little state of Rhode
Island...and have been a musician since my grammar school years.
I've worked professionally as a musician since the age of 16. I
went to college, figuring I'd do the whole "get a degree to fall
back on" thing, and was a psychology major- but it was
funny....as all of the other students were nearing graduation
and planning graduate school and all that, they would ask me
"what are you going to do after you get your degree?"...and my
answer would always be, "Be a musician, like I've always been."
But I'm happy that I did complete school. I feel that the more
experiences that you have in life, it really helps...as a
person.....in everyday life - and definitely as a musician. You
have more to draw from.
And praise God, I've been blessed in that I've never had to do
something else to "fall back on." I have worked steadily both as
a liturgical musician and also in the mainstream "gigging" music
scene.
I feel that, like anyone, my music draws heavily on the
influences I had growing up. I studied classical piano. My
favorite material was always the very melodic, "happy sounding"
stuff, like the Baroque-era compositions of Bach and Handel and
such. I also really liked pop music, especially, once again,
very melodic songs, especially when those songs combined catchy
rhythms too.
If I was to start naming specific artists and groups that I
liked both while growing up and also today we'd be here all day.
But basically, in my music and lyrics, I try to capture the
themes that influence my life and thinking, as well as the
struggles that I have encountered and do encounter. And just as
in my everyday life, I try to put a spin of hope in there,
because one big thing that my faith journey has taught me is
that there is hope. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that there
are days when that hope seems a million miles away, but I feel
that deep inside, I am optimistic- and I try to portray that in
my music.
Q: As a Catholic musician, have you made a conscious decision to
go the "pop"/secular route with this first CD, These Are the
Days and if so what motivated that decision?
A: Yes, I do feel that the decision to go "mainstream" on These
Are the Days was intentional. I have written both specifically
Christian songs, as well as other material. However, it is
important to have a cohesive direction on a project.... So for
this project, I chose to record a CD of my more mainstream pop
material. I tend to kind of write in that borderline area
between Christian and "mainstream," so a lot of the material
that is on my CD still very much comes from a spiritual
background. And I was really interested in the idea of being a
positive voice in the mainstream music industry, which is so
often sending out negative messages.
Q: Without a doubt, as a former "valley girl", my favorite song
on the CD was the totally awesome "Child of the 80's" - what was
the inspiration behind this song and what kind of a reception
are you getting when you perform it?
A: I have always been a huge "80s freak".....I love the music of
that era...when I was in Nashville co-writing with Shay Watson
(my friend and producer on the project), he brought up a song
idea that a friend of his (Joe Simpson-another co-writer on the
song) had once had for an 80s tribute song....Joe pretty much
had the chorus in place...Shay felt that if there ever was an
artist who would be right for that song, it was me. I was so
influenced by that and all. Shay called Joe to get his ok, and
then we took it and collaborated with Michael Elsner on the
music, and then sat down and had a blast coming up with all
those 80s images and references.....in the studio was where we
had the idea to do the whole 80s style English sounding vocal
thing on the verses...
Of course, this was all before Bowling For Soup came out with
"1985." That song sort of beat us to the punch...but "Child of
the 80s" is very different in that it actually parodies the
production styles of the era, and also in places pays tribute to
three big 80s hits.
When I perform the song live, it generally gets a big
reception...of course, it's one of those songs that you either
"get" or "don't get" and I have at times gotten some funny looks
from people.
Q: As a musician, how does your faith shine through when you are
writing and performing?
A: I want to portray something positive in my music and its
message....hope, optimism, life.....all aspects that are
contrary to the "Culture of Death" that Pope John Paul II spoke
of...and believe me....the "Culture of Death" is huge in a lot
of today's pop music!
Q: Which song on the CD is your personal favorite and why?
A: Picture a father of twelve children. Now ask him who his
favorite child is. Those songs are like children...each unique
and special in their own way.
Q: Who are some of your musical influences? What have you
learned from them?
A: Uh oh......you went there! I'll try to sum this up...... OK,
in the classical world, I'd say many of the Baroque composers,
like Bach, Handel, Clementi, etc. Why? Because I love the
melodic style...also, the music "moves" and is uplifting. I'm
not into dreary-sounding music.
In the pop world, many groups and artists of past and present.
Survivor, Duran Duran, The Hooters, Aha, Howard Jones, Phil
Collins, Erasure, Men Without Hats, Men At Work, The Human
League, Styx, Toto, Billy Joel, Breathe, Def Leppard, Matchbox
20, The Corrs, Enrique Iglesias, Vanessa Carlton, Gary Barlow,
Savage Garden, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Clay Aiken....I can
go on and on......
I also love the music of a lot of today's contemporary Christian
groups and artists, such as Mercy Me, Rebecca St. James,
Kutless, Rich Mullins, Shaun Groves, Rita Springer, David
Crowder.... once again, the list goes on and on......
I've probably forgotten a million here. What do all of the very
varied artists share in common? Strong melody and rhythm, strong
pop songwriting, great production...It has all influenced me.
Q: I'm going to ask you to put on your music teacher hat for a
moment here. It seems to me, as a mother of two elementary
school aged sons, that kids stop singing in Mass when they hit a
certain age. What can parents and teachers do to encourage
participation in the musical aspects of our liturgy without
nagging?
A: Well, I can only speculate based on my own experience, but
I'd say that this is a common situation. The children at my
parish school are the same way. The little children sing their
hearts out...then they hit around fifth or sixth grade...and
it's like they lose their voice or something...
The common complaint that I get from the children I teach is
that the music at mass is "boring"...that it sounds like
"opera", or "classical", and they don't like organ, etc.
What I try to employ is an approach from two directions
simultaneously. There is a lot of GREAT Christian music out
there that we as Catholics, especially here in the Northeast,
are not often exposed to. I mean, I recorded These Are the Days
in Nashville, where they have some pretty popular FM Christian
music stations, playing music that sounds just like the various
styles of today's rock, pop, hip-hop, and rap. I have been to
services in some evangelical Christian churches where the bands
and music will simply amaze you....it's very lively and very
good, as well as quite inspiring!
Many Catholic parishes have now taken a similar approach with
the Lifeteen program, which involves a full band playing
modern-sounding styles at a mass geared towards youth, which is
wonderful!
Anyhow, I try to expose the kids to music like this...last week
I had a class of fifth graders, and I played them a Praise and
Worship song by Kutless, and they really enjoyed it. It
definitely creates and environment where then, we can discuss
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the lyrics and talk about God and faith.
At the same time, before the Catholic traditionalists out there
start warming up their letters of complaint, saying that I'm
forgetting the basics, let me talk about my second
direction......I definitely also teach them the foundations of
our Catholic music tradition.....when doing so, I try to explain
the history and why we do things the way we do.....I teach them
traditional hymns, and even some Latin...last Lent I had them
singing the "Agnus Dei" instead of the English "Lamb of God."
Another important thing to remember is that no matter what style
of music we employ at mass, we must also remember and instill in
the children that praising and worshiping God is about just
that...and not about our own personal level of entertainment.
It's one thing to enjoy different styles that we find
inspiring...however, at the same time, I don't feel that mass is
the place for a full blown concert event....save that for the
actual concert time.....this applies to whether the musician is
playing classical or contemporary, or whatever.
So it's kind of like walking a fine line....playing music that
is inspiring and supports the liturgy without turning it into
something that distracts from the sacredness of the liturgy.
It's something that I feel that musicians of all styles and
genres have to pay attention to in regards to music at mass.
I am by no means saying that I am successful in getting through
to all of them....I will never know if I made any
difference..... I don't think that we should just throw away our
2000 years of musical tradition...but at the same time, I don't
think we should close our minds to incorporating very
contemporary styles of music...even if we can't do it at every
liturgy......
It's my hope with the kids at my church that somehow, the fact
that they enjoy some of the music that I introduce them too,
that it will encourage them to be more open-minded with me when
approaching the more traditional.
Also, one last very important thought......we must remember that
we teach by example. In many parishes, there are a large number
of adults who also never pick up a hymnal!
Q: For parents who have kids demonstrating an interest in
playing rock music, should this be encouraged in our young
Catholic kids? How can we help gently lead them toward using the
gift of music for positive and uplifting purposes?
A: Yes, yes, and yes!!!! In my music career, I have encountered
a variety of musical situations and musicians. Being classically
trained myself and sometimes playing in church has at times put
me around the "snobbish" classical musician who thinks that rock
and pop are nothing but noise. Two big things I teach our kids
at St. Peter's are "respect" and "opinions". I teach them that
even if they don't enjoy listening to classical, they at least
need to respect it's intricacy and educational value! I tell
them that if they play an instrument, that it is incredibly
valuable to study classical and jazz too! At the same time, I
feel that it is wrong for the classical or jazz purists to
dismiss the other styles. Everybody's got an opinion and
taste...that's what makes the world go 'round!
There is nothing harmful about rock music provided that the
spirit that it is written in is a positive one, and that the
lyrics do not promote anything contrary to God. If a person
grows to be in a positive place in their life and is a musician,
then the music that flows out of them will likewise be that way
and used for good purposes. For some, this will happen at 16.
For others, 36. For others, perhaps never.
We must never stop trying to lead them in the right direction in
all aspects of life.
Q: What's next? Do you have plans to tour or record a new
project?
A: Yes, I am planning on extending my performances for These Are
the Days, and also am in the process of writing towards an EP of
three specifically Christian songs, to hopefully be released
sometime early 2006.
For more information about Barry Russo and his CD visit
www.barryrusso.com or
http://www.catholicmusicnetwork.com/cmn_cd_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=
50581&REFERER=183
Lisa M. Hendey is webmaster of www.CatholicMom.com and
www.christiancoloring.com, a wife and mother of two and a
Christian music fan and supporter. Visit her at
www.LisaHendey.com for more information
About the author:
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